Gardening, garden style and photography from Emma Bond at the Orchard Studio

January 22, 2010

Polaroid Highs and Lows

Those of you who regularly read my blog will know that I am crazy for Polaroid. Since I was introduced to the idea of using it a year ago I have fallen in love with the cameras and the wonderful images they can take. This image of Ned was taken with my Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera which is around 30 years old, using adapted 600 film.

However, this crush has its ups and downs. Last year Polaroid announced that it was no longer making the film packs and now the last film available expired in last summer. There followed a stampede to Boots to buy up the last of the remaining film.

However, The Impossible Project have been working away on reproducing the film using the old manufacturing equipment, and hope to have it available this year. Fingers crossed. Have a look at their website.This image was also taken using the SX-70 last spring, considering the age of the camera, the colours are vibrant and warm.

The latest announcement has come from Polaroid, that they will be producing new cameras later this year to be used with 1000 film, so Polaroid was dead and we all mourned. And now it is alive again. The emotional rollercoaster continues. I particularly love this retro-looking model and will be snapping one up as soon as they hit the shops. Another shot of grass last autumn using the SX-70. I love the colours in this shot too.

The style is very similar to the One Step model which I now have four of! This new model is called the PIC 1000 and has a timer, flash and even red eye reduction. I love the faux wooden case.

Unlike my beloved Polaroid SX-70 however, they have a fixed lens so no good for any close-ups. They will retail for around £60 but I'm not sure how much the film is going to cost. The price of 600 film on Ebay has escalated, but luckily our fridge is full of film and I'm rationing like mad! Polaroid have clearly realised they are on to something with the new enthusiasm and interest in the old cameras. There are some fantastic Polaroid groups of Flickr.